In greens and more greens...

Well, we've been busy on our Facebook trying to keep you all in the loop with latest stock items, dates, and markets.

So.... here are our market dates, so far:

28 November ~ Amcare market, Alberton
29 November ~ Walkerville Farmer's Market
5 December ~ Night Market at The Shed
6 December ~ The Shed AND Walkerville Farmer's Market
13 December ~ Bunny Park market, Benoni (to be confirmed)
16 December ~ Walkerville Farmer's Market
20 December ~ Walkerville Farmer's Market

I don't doubt there will be a couple more aded to that list, as our last 2 months are always ridiculously busy.

If anyone needs maps, gps coordinates,  we'll be dropping some on our Facebook page for you to use.

Not all can be won...

Well... last week was a frenzy as we prepared for 2 markets over this last weekend. Getting stock, making stock, doing freelance work... and we were exceptionally prepared for both Friday's night market and Saturday's market.
And no matter how lovingly you make your stock, how great you setup, how carefully you display. There is NO guarantee for sales.
And sales wise, this weekend stood dead on zero. And yet, I will not use the word "bad" for either market, because the atmosphere at both markets was great, the other stall holders were amazing and despite a few rain drops at both markets, the weather was great.

So, there really truly is nothing negative to leave with from this past weekend.

And we move on.
This Friday night, 7 November,  we'll be in attendance at the monthly Night Market at The Shed on R59.
And thankfully, there's no panic to make stock for it, because I don't think my nerves could take another week of time limits (or coffee is playing a trick on me).

I do have some freelance work lined up already for this week, but last night I got so much ticked off Wonder Struck Inc's TO-DO list that I am starting this week with the most amazing weight lifted from my shoulders. And I see that the Post Office is "kind of" back to working order. Which is good news as an international sale happened on the Etsy store early this morning. Shew.

Also...while we're on the subject of our Etsy store.
Please note that,  its been a very hard decision to make, but the cost involved is far far greater than we can support, so as items expire on our Etsy, we WILL NOT be renewing them or adding any new ones.
We will slowly be filling up our Storenvy and HelloPretty online stores and will be enquiring about a Facebook online store.
So whether you're a South Africa or not, you will still beable to buy from us AND we'll be far better priced than on Etsy.

This week I'll also be trying to get shelf rental at a cute little coffee and handmade shop in our town, as we move closer to our dream of having our own brick and mortar store.
It's a slow and trying process to get to where we want to be...but I know its all going to be worth it.

Then... did a poll of sorts on the Facebook page about how people would feel if we made moulds, silicone, resin and such part of our stock items, also some mentioned they'd be interested in classes. All of this is starting to happen!
Again, it's a process, and things are happening (albeit in small careful steps).
We will also be working on tutorials for those who just do not live within reach of our one-on-one classes, so keep your eyes open.

Now, go and have a fabulous Monday (treat yourself to a cupcake or something else you know would make your day that little bit better)
And don't forget how amazing you all are.

♥

All that blooms...

Out in the garden this morning,  gathering more little daisies and little violas so they can be prepared for the last stretch into the Seasons range.
These will be the last for the year as I go searching for more blooms as they come out to play, currently Jasmine is at the top of the list for the next few items.
But if I find some other interesting gifts from nature, you'll need to peek into our online store and grab yourself some items from the Seasons range quick quick.

It really is so beautiful though as I walked between the flowers, admiring the pansies that are lining the paths of my parent's home (this is where I give in to my flower fascinations and where I stable ponybrat, Leroy).
Alot has happened this year (personal and otherwise) and as each month passes all too fast, so ends one year and another begins.
And as the last 3 months bring 2014 to a close, and the promise of 2015 comes closer, I can't help but feel like I wish the days were just a smidgen slower... and yes even the bad ones.
Our lives are but hours of existence and we keep wishing it by so fast.
Hopefully you won't ;)

Missed out on doing ALOT of blog updates, with the influx of busyness and happenings and markets :/
But its not going to get any less busy, just because the year is about to wind down.

So, hold on to your hats, and stick with us.
Lots of things are going to be happening still and are happening, we're not about to slam on the brakes just yet :)

Inbetween and within it all...

Craziness level x10...

Right now as I have a brief still moment at The Master of the High Court (doing freelance work)... thought I'd do some blog work.

Its crazy that we are only weeks away from Christmas and stores already have had their Christmas stock out for ages already.
Well, we jumped on the bandwagon and have started booking ourselves for tables/stalls at Christmas Markets. We'll post a list once all the confirmations are in.

We do, however, have the next 3 markets sorted and will have one last off weekend before the next string of madness begins.

Last week we took stock to our first brick and mortar shop, Silver Dream Tattoos,  in Lancaster road, Boksburg.
So if you're up for grabbing your hands on some of our items, head over to their shop... they do great tattoos and piercings too.

We'll also be looking at renting a shelf space at a more local shop, and will post pictures as soon as we get the thimbs up... if we get a thumbs down, we'll need icecream donations please.

Apart from the short update, we hope you're have a great week and an even greater day...

Wintery fingertips...

While Autumn brings about cosmos on road sides and in fields, colour changes to the leaves and migrating birds,  it's also a great time of year for markets, people wearing colourful scarves till mid day.  Beanies and gloves in different colours. Leaves changing and falling like a colourful carpet on market grounds.
Even though this is a setup to Winter, I cant help my fondness for this season.

Its also when people wear less necklaces and bracelets. Rings and earrings become the most desired accessory choices.
I too tend towards rings in this season and winter, along with my rather extensive scarf and fingerless glove collection ;)
Because, everyone has their obsessions.

So, I'll be featuring loads more rings and earrings, but also I'd like to spot crafties who make wintery luxuries like scarves and gloves... give me a shout so we can load links to your stores and pictures and contact details.

Really hope you guys enjoyed the last HOW TO post, and that you've enjoyed all of them so far, if there's something in particular you want us to look for, let us know.
Right now though we're still fascinated by the polymer clay stuffs and have been scouring another video for you guys on polymer clay for this week's HOW TO.
Yay!

Alrighty, then markets for Wonder Struck inc.
Our next table setup will be at Sundowners on 26 April at Sundowners for the all day music fest "The War to end all Wars" which is being used to raise some monies for an all girls rehab centre for drug dependence.
So, all for a good cause and great music.
Its going to be great!
Hope to see you guys there.
We'll be sharing the event details on our Facebook (which you can connect to via the tab on top of the blog, or on the right hand side panel of the blog)

We haven't got anything else confirmed as yet for May, except on the first Friday for The Shed's Night Market.
But keep checking in to see where you can come buy from our tables around Gauteng South.

And...with that, have a fantastic Tuesday humans ;)

The dreaded I word...

Working in an industry (day job) where the words "price increase" strikes loathing into every customer.... I never thought Wonder Struck Inc, at its size right now, would have to even consider this a problem.

Unfortunately, after walking in to buy resin at my supplier and being slapped with just over 10% increase on my resin, silicone and catalysts.... I am going to have to use the dreaded phrase "price increase".

But don't fear. Current stock items, orders already placed and anything ordered, requested up until 14 September, will not see the increase.
This will only be on my resin items, as I'm still able to cover for my increases on all my other components.
There's also no postal/shipping increase.
Just on resin, as from 15 September.
I do wish I could wait till October for this, but it just cannot be helped :(

And on a brighter note...
Spring seems to have officially arrived in Gauteng!
I'll be posting a market calender for the rest of the year as soon as I've confirmed all my bookings.

Also...there's something in the works that I'm tightly holding thumbs for. More will be revealed if/when it starts happening.

Please remember that we also have a "money raising campaign" on Starme to raise dosh to buy loads of new molds. Spread the word and support please!

Hello Spring...

Oh yea the whole "Spring" thing can get old, but I don't care.
It's Spring! Unfortunately the end of Winter means packing away my warmer scarves and all my gloves :( .....but it's the season of rain and flowers and gardening and night markets! Etc etc.

But on to shop updates ;)

Geek Fest was good. Very good! The number of people that came was awesome!
To everyone who dressed up, you guys rocked!
To other stall holders (Plushie Heaven, Reigning Red, amongst others) it was GREAT meeting you guys and I hope you all did really well.
We did.... To my assistants for the day Maruchka and Wes, love you both so hard. And I wouldn't have survived the day without either of you.

We're back at HQ now, carrying on with the cleanup/out and making a few pieces for stock and finishing some carry over orders.

I really do need to update what's still in stock so I can open the Etsy store again. I'll be updating the MyStall as well. Patience please!

I am considering ....to maybe have a *flash* sale 24 hours for whatever stock ISN'T loaded on the online stores as yet.
Once off prices that I will not repeat again.
But guys please, I will not hold this stock. Payments will need to be done and proofs sent on the day. If you're with FNB I'll even accept ewallet payments.
If everyone is game on getting stuff for as much as 50% off, we'll need to see what day would suit everyone that's interested.
So... DETAILS TO FOLLOW.

I'm hoping to get another market in before the end of this month, probably at Walkerville. This market happens EVERY Saturday and is quite cool. There's home brewed beers, fresh bread, homemade goats cheeses.... And, it's out in the farms.
I'll post their details once I've confirmed a stall.
Heatherlynn from the Journeyman and I will most probably be sharing a stall under the name Wander Land. Yup...dead serious.

Otherwise..... Our next Market to date will be:

28 September, Saturday ~ Wyetti Craft Market. 11 Wargrave rd, Henley-on-Klip.

Any submissions for this blog about your store, you as a model/photographer, must please be emailed by the 28th September so I can do the blog post on 29 September.

If you need stats of my blog, email me before then so I can send them to you.

Email: wonderstruckincza@gmail.com

And.... Have a great Wednesday peeps.

~CJ~

Post Easter buzz....

Well I hope everyone had a delightful and blessed Easter weekend.

We have now moved stalls at Wyetti Market, which was as busy as can be expected over the long weekend/Easter/Rand Show ...so sales were dismal. But the company was great...even under all the drizzle. At least we never got rained out.

Wonder Struck and KopyKat (Heatherlynn) are hoping to get stall space for the R59 Shed this weekend, and again for the R59 Shed's night market on 26 April.

If you want some low priced deals on some of our makery, follow us on Instagram: zoocatty

Also don't forget to visit our stores. All of them are linked here onto of the blog ;)

Little things...

Well... our blog has been a bit quiet, mainly due to alot of work at the stables taking up spare time right now as I get my horse prepared for his first show in years.
Right now, I feel like the move was worth it.

But onto Wonder Struck Inc. matters...

The little place I will be residing in and which will be Wonder Struck Inc HQ, is coming along nicely.
Painting has been done. Tiling has been done. Electricity has been connected and is working.
I am grateful to have a great step mom who has taken alot of this organising and sorting onto her shoulders... thanks Ma.

I've also started getting all the little bits and pieces together, in my excitement at how close its getting to moving in!
Can't wait to show you all the new place!

Then, as always, I'm continuing to better my work and Wonder Struck Inc. stock.
I'm also trying to make stock more accessible to the non-Etsy and non-paypal users here in South Africa by adding an online store for them!
There's still loads of tweaking and sorting out to on it, but I'm learning all this by doing.
I can just *see* the webpage fundis shivering at the thought ;)

Anyone ordering from our Etsy store from here on out will start finding rather odd, but practical freebie additions to your packages.
Craft supplies will be getting wooden coaster blanks/wooden box blanks/extra pieces, in and apart of the packaging, while those buying our ready to wear/use/gift listings will be getting glam, reusable, recycleable tin boxes that your purchases will be in.

I really want you to get your moneys worth, while feeling special, all in one little package.
So I hope you guys enjoy.

I'm feeling really good about July/August, and I won't let the dismal sales figures get me down.

Go out and support handmade!
And have a great Thursday!

Much love!
~Zoo~

Night market shinanigans....June

It's time for our monthly night market, happening at Henley Arms, from 6pm.
The Henley Arms is in Ewelme road, Henley-on-klip and we'd be bowled over if you joined and came to say hi.
We always seem to run a little late in getting there, but we're usually next to Astra, our pink-salt-selling-market-mom.
There'll be some new pieces to see on our table, especially for pixel geeks ;)
Otherwise, enjoy your Friday humans :)

Seasonal...

Ah wow. May was indeed a rough month for Wonder Struck Inc.
Though we did *exceptionally* well at our Wyetti Market stall, I was unproductive for about a week, what with being owned by flu and all.

June has started off quietly, and we're anxiously waiting to get started with all our new products and collaborations with some very talented humans.

Some of our new products will be available for a sneak peek at tomorrow night's market at Henley Arms.
It's also the owner's birthday and we're dressing up in the theme of the evening: Arabian Nights.
Come by for some crafts, drinking and fun ;)
So onward into June.
Lots of newness, new hairstyle/colour, new products, new collaborations, new customers...and lots of good business!

Have a great Thursday humans :)

our "DEADLY CARNIVAL" bracelet sets are R30 / USD8.00 per set, excluding shipping.

black and white cab necklaces (in several different designs) are R45 / USD9.00 each, excluding shipping.

Dancing... in the rain.

Well... it feels like forever since I've updated. Probably because of how much has been done since the last update!

A *complete* stock count has been completed. Pricelists and accounts updated.
We have a snazzy photographer playing with the stock and... we've still got another 12 days before our next market.

Also...the work on the logo is just going so well! I can hardly wait for it all to be finalised!

John and I have also made some progress on Squareheads stuff... which you'll have to check on the blog for ;)

But that's all for today's blog post...
My favourite sond ending for today's post is "Vicious Circle" by Aaron Lewis.
Until another post :)
Have a great 86400 seconds today!

This Madness is for you...

Its May.
April's public holiday frenzy has subsided and we're hitting the grindstones once again.
Well... Wonder Struck Inc has had some good and some bad on the sales front over April, but money is still tight.
My Squareheads partner, John, is feeling it too. But we are still doing what we can to get Squareheads merch going, just keep an eye on the blog for news ;)
In the meantime...
Maruchka, the brilliant little nutter that will be modelling Wonder Struck Inc and Squareheads merch, also has a creative side of her own, a side that we will be showing off in expanding Wonder Struck Inc stock.
Our first T-shirt design collab with talented little Maruchka is officially in the works!
We talked, we decided....and yesterday was my first glimpse at what will be our first official design for shirts.
Wonder Struck Inc will be making these new products available at local markets and on Bigcartel.
We *will not* be putting this on the Etsy store, because the shirts will not be hand screenprinted by us (we do not have space at the moment to do this ourselves).
We'll load the stock as they become available.
The first run of shirts will be limited to a very small quantity, but as we go along, more stock will become available.
Then for the handmade stuff...
We will continue with our handmade jewellery and crochet items which are available not only on the Etsy store, but at local markets and from our Facebook page.
Before I sign off, for our Etsy buyers, thank you so much for the support and feedback you have given us over April.
It is greatly appreciated!
And with that!
Toodaloo.
~Zoo~

New views...

Well Happy Sunday readers!

Its a post rain day here in the Vaal and wow, this weather! I could very well have my laziest day planned out.
Blanket on the grass, under a tree, surrounded by puppymonsters and a vintage print Alice In Wonderland in hardcover in my hand!

But before all of that.

This Saturday (despite it being a long weekend), we have one of them "hectic market days" coming at us.
We'll be at Wyetti from 9am to 3pm...then! 200 people are gathering on a farm to watch bands late into the night and we'll be there with a merch table setup.
I'll be confirming those details tomorrow but I'm so chuffed people go out of their way to invite Wonder Struck Inc to take part in these things.

I've also been *trying* to get some items made that I can duplicate as I'll be trying to get us into retail establishments. *holds thumbs*
But we'll always stay handmade!

I have *some* clarity on my move...
I stopped by what will soon be Wonder Struck Inc headquarters yesterday and... well, there's so much work to do on the place.
We have the house being cleaned right now, then the painting starts in the next couple of weeks, then a whole new kitchen installation is happening (I still cannot believe what the previous tenants did to the place).
Then there's tiling, carport and fences to erect. Security installation, door and window to the as yet undefined backyard....
So yes. In short, the move probably won't even be happening by end of June.
Sigh
We hold out hope though.

So until then, Wonder Struck Inc will be operating as per usual.
Hope you'll continue to read, to buy, to support.

We'd appreciate if you tweeted/pinned/facebooked our items on Etsy ;)

Until the next entry. Head on to a gorgeous fulfilling Sunday!

~Zoo~

Here or there...

Work, work, work...
Though the fact that we are lucky enough to have work...should leave us breathless with appreciation.

Been spending the last couple weeks slowly adding new listings onto the Etsy store and the views/feedback has been so loved.
Thank you!
I've got alot more to add, but there's also the monthly night market at Henley Arms happening on Friday so I'll wait till that's over before adding anything new.
There is, however, a wonder I have lingering...with the *possibility* of my move to my new little home happening end of April.
To have a huge clearance sale...or not.
I'm talking 40 or 50% off kind of sale.
Will have to do sums and things before deciding. And there's always the unsurety of peoples' participation in the buying part.

I am however very excited with designing a work space for Wonder Struck Inc and I'm excited about crafting it messy!
The renovations (a new door and window to the as yet unenclosed backyard being one of the projects) haven't even started.
So I'm a little scared about expecting a "move in" date... hold thumbs and spit out wishes!

In the meantime...
Maruchka, our lovely friendy, who has also agreed to being Wonder Struck and Squareheads' model...is also a budding graphic designer who is working with me on a still very secret Wonder Struck project which we hope to reveal soon. Yippeeeee!

Till then.
Welcome home Autumn... 

A little bit of interest...

As I sit at my desk (functioning purely on 3 hours of Saturday morning sleep and 2 cups of coffee FOR THE DAY), I have to be excited about the 2 or so arrivals of new stock components... and the new stock thats being made!

...the excitement might also include the fact that I finally got a new mouse for my notebook. Its red and shiny.

But besides that.
I will be working on putting together stock that can be repeated, even if not EXACTLY, it'll still all be made/put together/broken/recreated by me or Wonder Struck Inc friends.
But for March (and our Wyetti market this month) we still have stacks and stacks of OOAK (one of a kind) pieces in stock.

Resin unicorn cameo in resin setting, with 2 dyed agate beads on chain - necklace

We are swimming in cameo necklaces right now (crushing so hard on it all) and... ribbon hairclips!
Oh yes... we were hairclip mad about a year ago, but stopped making when market people showed no interest, but recently we've just been swamped with queries for our hairclips. So I've knuckled down today and made 8 pairs of totally new OOAK hair clips.

Rhinestone key pendant and dyed agate - necklace

Also, just ordered some more pocket watches! I did a test order on one and I've been arguing with myself about taking it for me! That...is how awesome it is.
With this slow set of changes I'm making for Wonder Struck Inc, I hope you'll enjoy what is in store ;)

Pocket watches now in stock. 3cm diameter.

Matching silver chain, as either a necklace or traditional pocket chain - R130 (in South Africa excluding postage)

Take it off! ...10% at least

Everything has just been so crazy, but I eventually got around to loading our 10% off coupon code on our Etsy.
On checkout the coupon code is - HAVE10OFF
It'll even apply to any new lsitings I put up during March, so go get some discount!

Alot of the new stock will have more crystals and glass and semi-precious beads, like our key inspired necklace with 5 dyed agate beads and a rhinestone blinged out key pendant.
(R80 including postage in South Africa)

Please keep in mind that no 2 crystals (dyed or natural) will look identical, not even dyed agate. Though we try use the closest matching ones in pieces like this.

(Due to some technical issue (our photos not wanting to load correctly) we can't show you any new goodies on this blog post, but they are on our Etsy store now)

What a weekend! ...

Well... our one and ONLY "down the rabbit hole" necklace was sold this weekend along with the ring we made to match it (but didn't list).
We've "de-activated" Down The Rabbit hole on our Etsy for now.
We've just had a swarm of unexpected sales this weekend...and this week is going to be spent making more stock for a "ladies tea" this Saturday.
And we thought it would be a quiet month ;)